Alevism is frequently described as a religious tradition that affirms gender equality, most prominently through the concept of can, which symbolically suspends sex distinction within the ritual space of the cem. Yet the extent to which this egalitarian theology is materially enacted in contemporary practice remains insufficiently examined. Engaging debates in material religion and ritual studies, this article investigates how equality is embodied, staged, and transformed within the spatial and ritual materiality of the cem. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in four urban cemevis in Istanbul—Pir Sultan Abdal Cemevi, Garip Dede Cemevi, Şahkulu Sultan Dergâhı, and Hacı Bektaş-ı Veli Okmeydanı Cemevi—the study adopts a comparative intra-Alevi approach. These cemevis were selected because they are affiliated with distinct institutional and theological orientations within contemporary Alevism. By examining ritual practice across these divergent authority regimes, the article analyzes how the spatial configuration of the meydan, the distribution of ritual roles, the symbolic centrality of the post, and the gendered dimensions of musical performance and ritual choreography mediate gendered authority. Approaching the cem as a materially structured and performative space, the study argues that while ritual discourse and choreography stage a suspension of gender hierarchy, contemporary processes of institutionalization, and heightened public visibility have reconfigured religious authority in ways that increasingly centralize male leadership. Thus, equality in Alevism is neither purely rhetorical nor fully realized; rather, it is dynamically negotiated across competing institutional contexts. By foregrounding ritual materiality, this article contributes to broader debates on how egalitarian religious traditions adapt to modern institutional forms while renegotiating gendered authority. Keywords: Gender, religious authority, cem, materiality.